When History Repeats
by StargateJedi
Summary: Future Fic: The time has come for Arthur to find out who he truly is and become the champion of Albion once again. The world has been void of magic for over a thousand years, but something has stirred it once again. With the help of a young woman he meets one night, will Merlin be able to reunite the members of the round table in time? [Arthur/Gwen] [Merlin/OC]
1. Beginnings

A/N: This is the first fic I have started in a while, so apologies if it is a little rough around the edges. I'm posting it because I hate to have it just sit as a file in my folder, but this is more of a side-project for my own creative purposes than anything.

Future Fic: The time has come for Arthur to find out who he truly is and become the champion of Albion once again. But the key to finding and reuniting everyone comes in the form of a girl Merlin meets in a chance encounter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Merlin, Merlin, the BBC, or any of its affiliates. I only own Daria and this story.

Chapter One

Merlin sat at the local pub, hidden by the shadows at the table in the back corner where he always sat. A mug of ale sat in front of him, his eyes focused on the intricacy of the designs on it. It reminded him of something from home, something from when life was filled with friends and loneliness was something he couldn't imagine.

After around 1500 years, it was almost impossible to remember what life with companionship held. It wasn't that he hadn't had the opportunity for friendship, or dare he think it, love – it was moreso that after watching Gwen, Percival, Leon, and even Gaius grow old and die while he remained, he felt he couldn't handle it time and time again.

He had sought out the spirit of his father in the crystal caves many times after Arthur's death. Words of wisdom, warnings and explanations of things to come were revealed each time. The worst revelation he felt he had received was when he was told he would never age until Arthur returned to save Albion again.

Sighing, Merlin took a sip of his ale, and allowed his mind to float back into memories. He had seen it all – the world, ten times over. Moving from place to place as he used magic to make it appear he was aging, before disappearing somewhere else and starting again. His fingers and tongue itched to use some magic, to bring some reminder back of what was, but he knew he couldn't.

This world, the world with automobiles and plastic money, knew nothing of magic. It seemed Arthur's death had done more towards permanently eliminating magic than it had towards creating a world where both those with and without magic lived in unison.

He had tried to keep track of the druids, to keep some link to magic, but it was as if they had all vanished. He knew some had pledged their allegiance to Morgana, and had disappeared into hiding, but he didn't know what had happened to those who didn't. Some, he had found to be wiped out, but others were simply gone without a trace. He was, and would be completely alone for who knew how long.

* * *

Daria wiped the top of the bar dry, over and over again, staring at the young man in the shadows with a curious look on her face. Night after night she saw him there, sitting with an ale that he barely touched, staring at it as if it held all the secrets to the world. There was something that drew her to him, but she had yet to work up the nerve to speak to him.

"He's cute, huh?" said Jana, one of the other bartenders as she elbowed Daria. "Why don't you go talk to him, you've been staring at him every night for the last week."

Daria flushed slightly and pretended to busy herself with wiping the bar again. "I hadn't noticed – I just thought it was curious that he sits there without speaking to everyone every night." She paused and glanced back over at him. "Besides, I'm in England to focus on my studies, not on boys."

Jana threw back her head and laughed. "No-one ever said you can't have both." She took the cloth out of Daria's hands. "His name is Merlin," she said as she shoved Daria out from behind the counter. "Oh, and one more thing –"

Daria yelped slightly as she felt her hair-tie pulled out of her ponytail, followed by her long, brown hair being fluffed.

"Now you are ready – go girlie!"

Daria stumbled forward, not quite sure what to do. She had been watching him for weeks, since she started this job, but he had never noticed. Not that she took it personally – it seemed he never noticed anyone. In fact, he hardly even noticed Jana when he ordered his ale each night, which was surprising since every male in the place noticed Jana.

She took a deep breath and walked over.

"Everything okay with your drink?" she asked.

He had hardly noticed her approaching and was startled when she spoke to him. He glanced up at her for only a moment before looking back down at his mug. "Oh, uhm yes, it's fine thank you," he replied.

"Are you ever going to actually drink it?"

"Maybe one day," he smiled faintly.

She wondered if she should continue talking to him, or just leave. He didn't seem bothered by the conversation, just distant. He was young, maybe only a couple years older than herself, but his eyes seemed to hold many more years in them than he appeared. Wisdom, age and loneliness.

_Emrys….._

It was like a whisper through her mind, and Daria blinked, unsure of where it had come from or what it was. Her blood tingled at the word, which sounded faint and distant, as if it were being spoken many years ago.

Merlin flinched, sensing something he hadn't felt in a long time. Somewhere in this very room, there was magic. It was faint, so very faint, but he could feel it. It had been just a flash. He looked up at the girl who had been speaking to him, and saw her gazing at him intently. Her eyes were a piercing blue, much like his own, or even Mordred's had been.

Not that piercing blue eyes were limited to those with magic, but there was something about them.

"Would you like to join me," he found himself asking, not entirely sure why.

The girl looked surprised, but nodded and sat down. "I'm Daria," she greeted.

"Merlin."

Daria smiled at him. "Tell me Merlin, why is it that you sit here, night after night, staring at your ale and looking as if you wished you were anywhere but here?"

Blinking, Merlin looked at her curiously. She was far blunter than the people who usually attempted to converse with him. Most simply made small talk before getting bored and wandering off.

"Everyone I know is far away from here," he replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. It wasn't entirely a lie. The far away, however, was more through time than distance.

Daria smiled sadly back at him. "I know the feeling," she said. "My friends and family are an entire ocean away."

She began fidgeting with a ring on her finger and Merlin glanced down, surprised at what he saw. The ring was old, ancient even – a faded brass, with a flat, round top instead of a stone, and the Druid triskele etched into it. He hadn't seen anything like it in a very long time.

Catching his gaze, Daria pulled it off and held the ring out to him. "Interested in Celtic symbols?" She asked. "It's a family heirloom. I don't know how old it is. But it's been passed down for at least over a hundred years. My mother said that her side of the family was once part of the Celts."

Merlin hesitated a moment before reaching out and touching the ring. The moment his skin came in contact with it, a female voice spoke crystal clear in his mind.

_Emrys… The time has come. _

He saw a flash of light and an image of Arthur. At least, it was Arthur, but not the one he knew. This Arthur was in modern-day clothing, mounted on a white horse with a cricket bat in his hand. He recognized the crest on his polo shirt, but couldn't quite place it.

_Emrys… Arthur is waiting._

He dropped the ring on the table, a rush of emotions flowing over him. Arthur was alive – and his time had come. Albion's greatest need. But what? What was the need? There was nothing going on – the world had been at peace for the most part for over 60 years, and as far as he knew, there was no magic present.

"Are you okay?" Daria furrowed her brow in concern. Merlin had looked shocked the moment he touched the ring, and had dropped it instantly, paling as he did so.

"I'm—I'm sorry, I have to go." Merlin was flustered. He had to find out what was going on. He stood quickly and tilted his head in farewell to Daria before turning and walking as quickly as he could out of the pub.

Daria flushed, slightly embarrassed. She had no idea what she had said or done, or if it was even her who had caused it. Glancing around the room to make sure no-one else had noticed, she breathed a deep sigh of relief when everyone seemed enthralled in their own business.

The young man was so strange. Their encounter had been off-putting to say the least, yet she still felt drawn to him. She shook her head. Maybe she really did have a crush, and it was simply manifesting itself in this strange need to know more about him.

"Silly girl," she muttered. She reached for the ring, and as she touched it, she heard the voice again.

_Help Emrys… it is your destiny._

Was she going crazy? The voice sounded exactly the same as before – distant and faint, as if from another time or place. She had to have imagined it. And who was Emrys?

She slid the ring back on her finger and stood up, grabbing the mug of ale before returning to the bar counter.

_Emrys is our only hope…_

The voice again. She looked around the room, wondering if anyone else could hear the voice, but no-one seemed to notice. Maybe she had eaten something funny earlier. She shook her head again, trying to clear the strange voice from her mind before returning to work.

Still, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that somehow, she had stumbled into something that would change her life forever.


	2. Connections

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews thus far! I seriously didn't expect anyone to read the story, but it is encouraging to hear people have interest in it Happy New Year everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. I do not own Merlin. I do not own Merlin. If I did, it would still be running.

Chapter Two:

Merlin wasted no time hurrying back to his apartment and heading straight to his bookshelf for some help. Something was happening, was about to happen, and he needed to figure out what was going on. There was a power inside of that ring that he was certain the girl did not know existed, and he wondered if there was any significance to the ring itself.

"Gaius, I could really use your help with this," he muttered, browsing the spines of the ancient books lining the shelves.

The books were dusty and worn and had been with him throughout his journeys. Once it was revealed that he was a sorcerer, and Gwen had passed a law allowing those with good intentions to practice freely, he had been given full access to the royal library. Over the years, his collection had dwindled, books lost in storage in hiding, pages that had molded or been accidentally ruined by the elements of the world.

But what was left was enough, he hoped. He dragged his thumb across the spines until he found the one he was looking for. History of the Druids. Pulling the book out, he was careful to keep the covers pressed tight to prevent the loose pages he had added over the years from falling out. The history in the book itself only dated up to seventeen years before he had come to Camelot. Uther had forbidden the book to be updated after outlawing magic.

What little he had been able to gather about the Druids over the years he had written and added in loose-leaf pages. He carried the slightly heavy book over to the dinner table in his small kitchen and put it down.

The apartment was modest – one bedroom, a small living area, bathroom and a kitchen. There were no trinkets or décor, or anything that would make it look homely, it was simply lived in. The basics, and plenty of book shelves.

He blew the dust off the cover and opened the book, flipping through the pages. He was certain he had seen a ring like hers before, or something similar. It wasn't uncommon for the Druids to leave a magical connection through an item – not necessarily a memory or a specific message, but a link to something of the past.

"Bael onbryne." Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the candle on his table lit. Despite the advances of technology, he still found he preferred to do things by candlelight. It was more calming, more familiar.

Page after page, he turned finding nothing. The minutes turned into hours, and the hours burned into the early morning. The candle had all but died as the morning light broke over the horizon and dawn began.

He was beginning to lose all hope when one of the pages shoved in caught his eye. There were three triskele's drawn in the corner of the page, though he could not recall having ever drawn or seen them before. Slowly, he pulled out the page and unfolded it. At the top was a sketch of the ring the girl had been wearing. Below the sketch was a note written in Druid text, addressed to him.

_Emrys, _

_If you are reading this, it is likely that you have seen this ring. The person bearing the ring is someone you can trust. The ring has been passed down from generation to generation within a family of druids. It has been enchanted, so that none in the family will ever be able to lose it or give it away. They know it is of grave importance, though they are unsure why._

_This person will be the key to your success, and to that of the king. It has been prophesied that when you encounter each other, it will be the final step to put things in motion which have been foretold. _

Merlin blinked. How this note had gotten there, he didn't know. There was no date, but it was clearly very, very old. It was starting to make some sense though. The girl, Daria – she was of druid descent, which would explain the short feeling of being near magic he had experienced. He wondered if she knew what she was capable of. Probably not, as she would have known who he was or had some way of sensing his own active magic.

He glanced at the clock. It was only six in the morning, and she likely had gone home already, wherever home was. He needed to find her, to speak with her further.

* * *

The dawn was breaking as Daria finally left the pub, exhausted from another full night's work. She found herself quite glad to be facing a Saturday morning, as rest was something difficult for her to find these days. Studying abroad was not cheap, but she was starting to wonder if she could handle the demands of school and working all by herself.

Her parents had offered to pay for it when she chose to leave the University of California to study at King's College in London, but she wanted to do this on her own. She had led, for the most part, a privileged life and felt that it was time she had a fresh dose of reality. It hadn't been easy to leave her friends and family behind, but it was what she had to do.

She walked until she reached her residence, a beautiful old building on campus, with a grand stone staircase leading to the doors. Sometimes, she imagined what it would have been like over a thousand years ago, and that perhaps, the entire college was once a royal palace and a village.

Sitting down, she stretched her tired legs out across the step and leaned her back onto the side of the staircase, watching as the sun slowly rose. She pulled out her iPhone and thumbed through to the text messages. She had felt the phone buzzing all night, but never had a chance to respond.

Not surprisingly, she had an onslaught of messages from her best friend. It had been almost two weeks since Daria had contacted her, and she was feeling slightly guilty. The time difference amidst her busy schedule made it difficult to keep up with everyone back home. She opened the conversation and scrolled up to the top one to read through.

_Hey chick, you planning on contacting me back anytime soon?_

_Let me guess, you're at work. Ooh, I'm so envious of you. I haven't been to England since I was a child, not that you didn't know that. Have you run into my brother at all?_

_Okay, it's been like, two hours and you haven't texted back. I heard from Eli, and he says he has hardly seen you – maybe you should do dinner or something with him sometime. _

_All right, you need to call me ASAP. Apparently, my mother thinks I need more 'nobility' training or something like that. She said I'm unfit to carry on the Duchess title – something about partying too much? I keep trying to tell her that this is America, not England, and nobody could give a rat's ass about us being in line somewhere to be royalty, but she won't listen. PLEASE call me, I'm getting so frustrated!_

Daria chuckled and shook her head. Since they were children, her friend had always had a knack for the dramatic. Personally, she had never understood the girl's opposition to being nobility. Unlike the royal family of present days, being of noble birth gave them far more power to actually do something in the world. Still, she had a point. Them living in America had lessened the impact their bloodline had on things. Now, they were just another wealthy family with a title.

The sun rose quickly, and Daria closed her eyes, soaking in the small bit of warmth the rays offered. The weather had possibly been one of the hardest things to get used too. It was much chillier than California, and they received far more rain than she ever believed possible.

Almost as if reading her mind, she felt the slap of a cold raindrop hit her skin. The sunshine today, it seemed, would be incredibly short lived. She scooped up her bag, thrust the phone back in her pocket, and headed inside.

Her bed met her with warm anticipation as she curled up, still wearing her work clothes, and fell asleep quickly.

That morning, her dreams were odd and filled with strange images of dragons and sorcerers, great battles and people whose eyes flashed gold with the use of magic. She tossed and turned, reliving frightening scenes of attacks by undead soldiers, and a sorceress whose emerald green eyes were filled with enough hatred, anger and darkness to carry through the ages.

Daria woke with a start, covered in sweat and confused. Her mind was racing. It was quite possibly the strangest dream she had ever had, and yet something about it felt more real than anything she had ever experienced. She tried to shake the images from her mind, and headed for the shower, hoping the hot, clean water would help her to feel more refreshed.

* * *

Merlin had been relieved to find Jana still closing up at the pub when he got there. She was the only person he knew who would have the information to find Daria, and he was hoping she was willing to share.

"So the two of you hit it off, did you?" Jana asked with a chuckle and a wink.

"Something like that," said Merlin, figuring it would be easier to get information out of her if she thought they were going on a date. "Do you know where I can find her? Something came up and I wasn't able to get her number or anything."

Jana pulled out a piece of paper from under the counter and scribbled down an address. "She lives on campus at King's College. That's her dorm room, but she's likely sleeping right now. She usually goes to the Polo match around one. You'll be most likely to find her there."

She slid the paper over to him and winked again. "You two have fun now."

Merlin thanked her and picked up the paper, hurrying out of the pub. He had about five hours to kill before he would be able to see her, and decided that maybe it would be best if he grabbed some sleep as well.

A few hours later, he made his way to the college, startled by the striking resemblance the campus bore to the castle at Camelot. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would have thought it *was* Camelot. But this was not Camelot – the castle had been destroyed not long after Gwen's reign ended. It was the last symbol of tolerance for magic, and those that sought to completely rid the world of it felt that destroying the castle would serve as an undeniable statement.

It wasn't difficult to find the polo field, and Merlin realized that he should have arrived earlier. The stands were full, and trying to find Daria with the naked eye would take far too long. He focused his thoughts on Daria's face, and scanned the crowds, using his skills at seeing the path in hopes that it would help him find her. Sure enough, after only a few moments, he spotted her, sitting alone, near the top of one of the bleachers.

"Lovely day for a Polo match, wouldn't you say?" he asked as he sat down beside her.

Daria jumped, slightly startled and looked over at him. "Merlin? What are you doing here?"

"I came here to see you," he grinned.

"After last night, it seemed you couldn't get away from me fast enough," she replied. "What's changed?"

Merlin laughed with a slight edge of bitterness. "More than you know."

Daria was confused. They had only exchanged a few words, and yet the conversation was already incredibly cryptic. "You're very strange, has anyone ever told you that?"

Merlin laughed again, this time, for real. "All the time."

"So why are you here?"

"Well, I thought we could chat a bit… after the game of course."

Daria frowned for a moment, unsure of what she should do. Why he wanted to chat, she had no idea, but again, she felt that strange sensation of being drawn to him, as if she needed to be around him. "Fine, after the match."

The announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, stating that the match would begin momentarily and the crowd roared. As the King's College team rode out, Merlin thought he recognized a familiar tuft of blonde hair. It was only then that he noticed the school's crest flapping in the banner.

"And now, the team captain," shouted the announcer, "Arthur Pender!"

Merlin felt numerous emotions rush over him as Arthur pranced around the field on his horse, a banner with the school's colours flying from his horse. It was Arthur – his Arthur. The floppy blonde hair, cocky grin, and the grace with which he rode – it was all there.

As Arthur reached their side of the stands, the Polo player looked up, and for a moment, his eyes connected with Merlin's. Arthur frowned for a moment, seeming confused, before looking away quickly and continuing around the field until he had returned to his teammates.

"Merlin, are you okay?" Daria asked, looking at him with concern on her face. "You look as if you've just seen a ghost."

"I have."

* * *

Morgana paced around the living room of her friends' small house, confused and worried. "Are you sure this is going to work?" she asked, looking to the tall blonde for encouragement.

The woman was of the same height of Morgana, and sported a small triskele tattooed above her collar-bone. Unlike the simple druid triskele's, this one had a snake's head at the end of each coil, the mark of those who had dedicated their lives to following the High Priestess.

"It will work," the blonde replied as she lifted a very old chest off the bookshelf that lined the wall. "Henry, are you ready?"

"Just about," Henry called from the kitchen. A kettle began to screech and was stopped as it was pulled off the element. Moments later, he retreated from the kitchen, black kettle in hand.

"Now, we're ready, Alyssa," he said, nodding to his wife.

Morgana swallowed deeply. She had spent her whole life being told of who she was, of what she was meant to do, but none of it had felt real. She was supposed to hate the world, hate all that it stood for and it's intolerance of magic. Her parents had raised her to despise it all, but it was difficult to hate the world she had grown up in.

She had been a recluse, only allowed to interact with those who had been her followers, but it was still hard to grasp this woman who they wanted her to be. She had expressed it time and time again, that she was unable to connect with this darkness they were always pushing her towards, but was always told that when the time came, she would be reconnected with it through the bonds of magic and would have to try no longer.

It had taken her parents until she was in her early twenties before they found the followers of whom would be able to restore her power, her entire being to what it once was. Henry and Alyssa, held the key she was told.

"Morgana, we need you to lay on your back on the sofa," Alyssa instructed.

Morgana laid back, shaking out of slight fear. She didn't know what to expect, and no-one had told her what the ritual would entail. If she had not seen the magic her parents and her friends possessed, she would not even believe what was going on right now.

All she knew was that once this was over, she was going to have to kill Arthur and Merlin once and for all. Her faces were burned into her mind, and despite her lack of hatred for the world around her, it burned strong against these two. She knew they had robbed her of her life, her title – of the ability to be loved. They were the ones who killed her the first time and took all away from her.

She watched as Alyssa opened the box and began to speak strange words over it as Henry poured the boiling water over whatever lay inside. Steam erupted – more than Morgana would have suspected, and screams filled the air.

Alyssa reached inside and drew out a dagger made of rubies and black crystals. Morgana gasped, suddenly terrified. Were they going to kill her?

In a moment, Henry was by her side. He knelt down and grasped her hand tightly as Alyssa continued the spell. "Be brave my lady – we would never aim to harm you. You will be more than fine when this is over. In order for all your memories to be restored and your power to reach the strength it was before your death, the dagger must pierce your heart."

"But that will kill me!" Morgana tried to sit up, but Henry began to restrain her.

"It will not, my lady. As we taught you – blood magic is the deepest and darkest of magics – it will only make you stronger." Henry continued to soothe her, as Alyssa approached.

The more Alyssa spoke, the greater the rubies began to glow. Whisps of black began to flow out from the Crystals, surrounding the knife and Alyssa's hand in an opaque, dark cloud.

"Slaves of the dark, we beseech you!" Alyssa called out as she stepped slowly towards Morgana, then knelt until she was hovering over her chest. "Restore what was taken from us! Restore our saviour to what she once was, and allow her to reclaim what rightfully belongs to us!"

Without hesitation, she plunged the ruby dagger into Morgana's heart.

Sharp, piercing pain paralyzed Morgana's body as she cried out in agony. It felt as if poison was flowing through every vein, coursing through her like blood.

There was a loud boom, like thunder, as the dagger sunk into Morgana, throwing both Henry and Alyssa away. The pain lasted only a moment longer, before all went still. Morgana's skin was pale, and cold, as if like death.

Alyssa and Henry exchanged a worried glance, but refused to move towards her, waiting to see what happened.

And then, breathe escaped Morgana's lips. Her body rose into the air, turning until she was standing upright, facing the couple. Slowly, her feet were lowered to the ground. Her eyes flew open, a dark gold lacing her emerald green eyes.

"It's time to raise a little hell," she said as a smirk crossed her face. She threw back her head and laughed.

Yes, she was definitely back, and now she knew that the sympathy she had held for the world was unwarranted. It was time to take back all that she was, and destroy the very ones who thought they could stop her.


End file.
